Gary Darling came to Louisiana from Los Angeles in the late seventies after extensive travel honing his talents in Europe, Mexico and the United States. He opened his own restaurant, Cafe Rani, in Covington, Louisiana attracting critical acclaim.

In 1983 Gary was tapped by his mentor, Chef Warren LeRuth, as consulting chef for restaurateur Al Copeland for development of Copelands Cajun American Cafe.

He was directly involved as the company grew rapidly from a single New Orleans location to a chain in cities across the United States. In addition, Gary was responsible for product development as Vice President of R&D charged with leading the company's diversification into foodservice manufacturing. Darling served as president of the New Orleans Chef's Association from 1980 to 1982. As head instructor and director of the Associations apprenticeship program, he transitioned the program from a simple cooking program to an academic culinary curriculum. With assistance from the University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism and the American Culinary Federation Guidelines, the program has graduated many successful culinarians. In 1983, Darling was named New Orleans' Chef of the Year. He is also an active member of the Research Chefs Association. Gary lives in Covington with his wife Angele, a New Orleans native, and their four children.

Hans Limburg is of Dutch descent. He was born in Indonesia, grew up in Holland, and moved to the United States when he was sixteen. This multicultural influence provided a professional strength that he carried with him to fine restaurants in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles and Lake Tahoe. At Harrah's Lake Tahoe he was executive chef, in charge of seven award-winning restaurants. Limburg is also an active member of the Research Chefs Association. Hans lives in New Orleans with his wife, Alicia, a native of Alexandria, Louisiana.

Greg Reggio is a native of New Orleans who began his career in the industry as an apprentice under Warren LeRuth in New Orleans. He started as a chef, and then his management and training skills led to the position of Director of Training for all Copeland's restaurants. For his formal education, Reggio attended the University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism as well as an affiliate school of the American Culinary Federation. On the practical side, he trained under such experts as Gary Darling and Beany McGregor to hone his culinary skills. Reggio serves as a director on the Board of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. He is also the Louisiana Restaurant Association - New Orleans Chapter President 2007. Greg and his family live in suburban New Orleans.